Dwight Schrute, Stewie Griffin and the Atlanta Braves don’t appear to have much in common. But to many living in the residence halls, their collective return to students’ television screens is a welcomed sight.

The available television stations in the residence halls became a topic of interest after TBS was replaced by Court TV several weeks ago.

Sarah Roman, president of the Residence Hall Association, said a technical error with the provider caused the channels to be switched. As of this week, TBS is back in commission, just in time for the Major League Baseball playoffs.

Joshua Johnson, assistant director for marketing and public relations for Housing and Dining, said the RHA makes the final recommendations as to what channels are made available.

The RHA discusses channel selection and bases their picks on student preferences, Johnson said.

The RHA will distribute a survey this semester to re-evaluate the channel selection, Roman said.

Cable in the residence halls is provided by Campus TeleVideo out of Greenwich, Conn.

Housing and Dining plans to evaluate the cable situation and consider an alternative, Johnson said. The cost for NIU to provide cable, as outlined in a purchase order for the FY08 budget, is about $150,000.

“It is one of the goals of Housing and Dining to assess campus cable and evaluate alternatives to better meet changing students’ needs and wants,” Johnson said.

Students who want a new channel not currently available at NIU added should talk to their RHA representative, Johnson said.

NIU does not currently offer an alternative where residents can view NIU football games broadcast on Comcast SportsNet or any other unavailable channel.